Bitter Cold
by GiLaw
Summary: Have you got a feeling that you're only part of a group just because of a certain quality you have, whether it's personality, skills or gender? She got that feeling all the time. A theory on Nova's past with Mandarin. I'd recommend you read this if you're reading Secrets. Rated T for a suicide attempt.


**Hey guys!**

 **So yeah, if you read the summary, it should explain all. Also, why am I mentioning "Secrets" here? Well it's because some of the stuff that happens in this fic will be mentioned in "Secrets."**

 **Also, it's important to note that in this fic, Nova hasn't become her usual "tough warrior" self yet. I know there are some people out there who believe that she was a warrior from Day 1 but I just can't believe it for myself. From what I've seen, her tough warrior persona hasn't been that consistent throughout the series and I've just seen other female cartoon characters who are so much stronger and badass than her. Not that Nova can't be badass when she wants to, she's had her moments but I've seen better.**

 **Anyway, I have a theory that she was abused by Mandarin to the point where she HAD to be a warrior or she'd be nothing (literally) . . .**

 **BTW, I'd recommend you listen to Linkin Park's "Numb" before or after you read this. I was gonna put it this fic but . . . copywright issues. :/**

 **Anyway let's just get on with the fic! X'D**

 **Bitter Cold**

Have you got a feeling that you're only part of a group just because of a certain quality you have, whether it's personality, skills or gender?

Or that no matter what you do, you can never seem to get any love whatsoever?

She got that feeling all the time.

Not ALL the time. There were times where she felt great and was in the mood to kick some serious butt and that felt awesome.

But there were also times where she found herself asking herself why she was on the team in the first place.

Like Antauri said, everything had a purpose.

But what was HER purpose to the team?

The main fighter.

 _The main fighter?_

Wasn't that just like being in a team of cooks only instead of being the head chef, you were the main chef?

Mandarin was leader, Antauri was mentor and second in command, Sparx was the pilot, Gibson was the scientist, Otto the mechanic and here she was at the bottom with the role of _main fighter_?

It sounded cool on paper, she had to admit.

But she wasn't a fighter, she was a coward!

Mandarin said so!

Every time she finished training, pushed herself to the limits or even defeated a villain, she always heard him muttering "Weakling" under his breath. Muttering to himself was still better than a lecture . . . or a beating.

But she was trying, she was really really trying!

Why couldn't he see it?

Why weren't the others stopping him?

Sure Mandarin was their leader and he could be really dangerous when he wanted to but why weren't they sticking up for her in some way shape or form?

Why was Mandarin even beating her in the first place?

Was it because she wasn't as strong as she thought she was?

Most of the time she thought it was just because she was female. She wouldn't be surprised if that was the reason.

If she was a guy on a fighting team with that one female tag along, she wouldn't be to keen on them either.

Nova rolled over onto her side, trying to make herself comfortable. It was pretty early in the morning, the sun just beginning to rise, lighting Shugazoom with it's warm orange rays. Even with the sun's heat, she felt a chill and pulled the blanket over her to warm herself up. That felt better. Relaxing into her position, she exhaled loudly through her nose and settled back into her slumber. She still had a few more hours until it was time to get up for training. As her body felt heavier, she tried to get back into the nice dream she'd been having . . .

She was been sitting in a green meadow underneath a cherry blossom tree by herself while the sun gleamed over her, warming her yellow fur, turning it golden. A gentle breeze swayed, blowing the green grass around her and the cherry blossoms above her. The sweet smell of nature filled the air along with the chirping of bird song and rustling greenery. Nova sighed happily and relaxed herself against the tree. It was just her and the nature and she liked it, just the alone time. Even though she was alone, she didn't feel useless. She felt relaxed, she felt happy, she felt like she actually belonged-

"GET UP!"

She jumped upon being startled. Blinking in confusion, she rubbed her eyes only to see Mandarin standing right in front of her, his shadow blacking out the sunrays in front of her. He was glaring her like she was some sort of pest, a snake that had just eaten the family dog or something. And she wasn't sure if it was just her but . . . she could have sworn he was growling.

What did she do now?

"Wh- what is it?" she muttered, still sleepy.

He didn't respond but just stomped over to her and grabbed her arm, yanking her out of bed. She yelped, startled again, so much so she stumbled and would have fallen flat on her face if Mandarin hadn't had that iron grip on her arm.

"Stop flapping around you idiot!"

"What are you doing?" she asked, not sure whether to feel confused or scared or both.

He lowered his eyebrows. "We have a very important training session to go through today."

"Huh?"

"Shut up and come with me," he hissed.

"B- but what did I do?" Nova stuttered as he headed off, dragging her tired helpless body with him.

"Nothing . . ."

Nova's eyes widened a little. "Oh!" For a brief moment she allowed herself to become relieved.

"And that's exactly why I'm training you on this fine morning," he suddenly sneered.

"Wait, what?"

He had stopped walking since they were both standing outside the training room, Mandarin still squeezing Nova's arm, so hard, it was actually numbing her hand.

"You want to be a warrior, right?"

She nodded uncertainly.

"Well then I'm going to train you to be one," he replied, a hint of venom in his tone. "Now get in."

"Mandarin, it's really early! Can't we do it later?"

Mandarin glared for her a moment before speaking in a more dangerous tone. "Get in!"

"But-"

 ** _"GET IN!"_** He suddenly grabbed her neck and Nova would have screamed if it hadn't knocked the air out of her throat before he kicked open the door and slammed her in face first, slamming the door behind her even harder and then he turned to the training settings and turned it to level 10 causing those crazy weapons to appear from the walls and Nova, feeling dizzy and sore from the faceplant she'd just experienced tried to stand up but a laser gun blasted her down. She looked up to see all the weapons aimed at her and tried to jump away but her body just couldn't support herself and the room was spinning too fast for her to cope with what the blazes was going on.

"Mandarin make it stop!"

What she heard next nearly made her die inside. He didn't stop the weapons. He didn't say anything.

He just laughed.

She screamed as she felt the laser gun strike her again, inflicting searing pain on her back and tried to get up but something blew up beside her and sent her shooting into the wall and crashing to the ground.

"MANDARIN!"

But no matter what she did, no matter how desperate she cried, it only seemed to entertain him even more. He was like a kid watching a clown make a fool of himself in the circus, doing every trick in the book to entertain the audience.

That what she was.

A hideous clown making a desperate fool of herself.

But she didn't want to be that circus performer that everyone forgets about.

She had to fight back somehow.

She tried to stand up, fighting the excrutiating pain that stang her feet. Her body seemed to weigh a thousand tons as she heaved herself up and somehow managed to full out her giant fists.

And the weapons in front of her disappeared back into the walls.

Nova lowered her fists in confusion. Next thing she saw Mandarin storming into the training room . . . in her direction.

But . . . didn't he want her to fight those weapons?

She wanted to back away but she was pinned to the wall and Mandarin was standing just a couple of inches away from her. She winced, her shaky fists still up, not sure what to expect.

"What are you doing?"

"Get rid of those fists."

"But-"

"Get rid of those fists, Nova!" he snapped. "When I tell you to do something, you better respect me as your leader and do it! No buts!"

She nodded quickly and deacticated them obediently. The last thing she wanted was a beating.

Mandarin nodded in approval, or at least he simply nodded. For a moment there was a tense silence, unless if you counted Nova's shaky breaths. She just wanted to get out of the room and go back to bed. Not even because she felt tired but because she just wanted to be in the privacy of her bedroom.

She tried to step forwards but Mandarin was quicker. And what happened next just . . . she didn't know exactly. She just saw him withdraw his arm then his hand flew across her face in a silver blur but it whipped across her face, stinging her left cheek like another weapon, knocking her to the ground yet again which only inflicted pain on the other side of her face.

"You idiot!" he spat. "You realize that you don't let your guard down for anyone! Warriors never let their guard down! Never!"

"But you told me to get rid of my fists!" she cried.

Her response was another searing pain delivered to her left cheek and a foot to her stomach that knocked all the air out of her so she couldn't plead anymore. She hunched up, clutching where he had just kicked her, biting her lip to keep herself from screaming. She couldn't scream. No, she musn't scream. That would only make it worse. So she glanced up at the orange figure towering over her, wondering what he was going to do next, praying it would be over quickly.

He raised his fist and she curled up, scrunching up her eyes, preparing herself for the pain . . .

"Get out."

She opened her eyes and blinked at him. "Wh- what?"

"Do you want the beating or don't you?"

She didn't need to be asked twice. Ignoring the pain in her body, she somehow managed to climb to her feet and raced out of the room, the sound of Mandarin's laughter ringing in her ears, not stopping till she was curled up on her bed, squeezing the nearest soft squishy animal for support.

 _What was that?!_

Her left cheek felt like it was on fire. She touched it with her fingertips but it stang the moment it grazed off of it. And her stomach felt like someone had just dropped a brick on it. Her body was trembling even though she felt warm.

Why was Mandarin doing this to her?

And what would he do to her in the future?

She burried her head into her stuffed animal and let a few tears escape.

What was going to happen to her . . .?

The rest of the day was the scariest she'd ever felt. Normally it would have been the usual, training, patrol and maybe some battles but it just felt like she was walking around while being stalked by Mandarin who was watching her every move. They both knew that if she made one false move, he would certainly make her pay for it.

Should she tell the others about this morning?

Had they even noticed her battle scars?

Her left cheek was still burning.

What if she did tell them?

Would they understand?

Would they even care?

And what would Mandarin do, not just to her but to them as well?

Before she knew it, she was back in bed again. But she wasn't asleep. She couldn't sleep. She was waiting for the next morning for another round of torture.

This time she had to be ready for it.

She would be ready to take on his training.

And sure enough, the next morning, he burst into her bedroom and dragged her into the training room. As he did so, she stood her ground, preparing herself for all those crazy weapons again.

She wasn't going to back down to him.

She couldn't.

"Feeling confident are we?" her leader sneered.

His voice unsettled her nerves but she nodded bravely, pulling her fists out, ready to go.

He turned a few knobs here and there . . .

She lowered her eyebrows . . .

Where were the weapons?

Shouldn't they be out by now?

She swivelled her eyes around, looking for a weapon, a mace or at least some sort of sneak attack.

Where WERE they?

What was going on?

Then she saw a smirk spread across the orange monkey's lips . . .

It was then Nova realized how cool it felt in the training room. Like it was really cool inside. There was a chilly breeze blowing through the training room. In fact . . . it seemed to be . . . _getting colder_?!

The breeze was intensifying, the temperature dropping each passing second, getting colder and colder. The training room was almost turning into a freezer and she was trapped inside, perishing in front of Mandarin.

"LET ME OUT!"

She could see her own breath as raced up to the door and began pounding on it but it was shut tight and wouldn't budge. By now, it was so cold in the training room, it was beginning to sting, aggrovating her already painful injuries from the day before.

"MANDARIN! OPEN THE DOOR!"

She knew it was pointless, he would only let her out when he had gotten over the entertainment of her suffering. His laughter began to overpower the whoosh of the winter breeze and seep into her brain. She knew she had to somehow decrease his intrest.

She wrapped her tail around her body and brought her shivery hands together to start up a fire but her efforts were pointless. The bitter cold was almost smothering her at this stage, freezing her to the point where her only movement was her uncontrollable shivering.

"M-m-m- mmm- Man-d-d-d-d-arin, p-p-p-p-lllleeeease!"

Her knees were giving way. Soon she would collapse and slowly perish . . .

"Well since you said please," he sneered.

The breeze suddenly faded away and the temperature slowly began to rise. Even with the sudden warmth, she was still shivering. Her arms felt like ice, her yellow fur much paler, much uglier in color.

Mandarin was approaching her again though. And this time she wasn't cornered. But she couldn't move. The bitter cold seemed to have stiffened her senses altogether. She just hoped this wouldn't be long.

"That was good . . ."

Wait, what?

She raised her eyebrows. Sureley she must have heard wrong. There was no way he could have meant what he just said unless . . .

 _SMACK!_

Of course.

"But 'good' isn't good enough!" he screeched as she fell to the ground, clutching her cheek. "You must be better that just 'good'! You must be brilliant! You must be the strongest! YOU MUST BE A WARRIOR!"

She cowered at his scolding. That only infuriated him enough to raise his fist.

And the beating commenced.

For the next few days, the same continued torturous training trials continued.

She had expected something worse than weapons and cold but he nearly destroyed her with weapons again.

The day after that, just when she thought there was a pattern forming, (weapons, cold, weapons, cold), he used the weapons again.

And just when she'd gotten used to the weapons, he freezed her again.

All of these training experiences shared one thing in common: they were all followed by a brutal beating while Mandarin screeched and laughed at her.

But the worst of it all was that . . .

Why weren't the others doing anything about it?

He was beating her for Shuggazoom's sake!

Did they even care about her?

Yeah, Mandarin could be really dangerous when he wanted to be but . . . They weren't even trying to help her in some way, shape or form!

Were they . . . _going_ along with Mandarin?

It was the sixth day of training- or that's at least what Mandarin called it.

She was standing in the training room again, preparing herself for the worst.

He turned the knobs . . .

She braced herself for cold and weapons . . .

That's what she got.

Cold and weapons.

You know, at this rate she didn't even care anymore.

The pain and stinging . . . it was getting to the point where she just felt numb and on the verge of passing out.

Begging wasn't going to help her.

She knew she was doomed.

So she just stood there and let the weapons and cold do their worst while Mandarin's laughter pounded at her mentally tortured mind.

She wanted to fight but she just wasn't strong enough.

They both knew it.

As she let the weapons and cold defeat her, she heard Mandarin's voice in her ear again. But this time it wasn't laughing. It was sneering.

"You're useless, you know that? If I had my own way, I'd let these weapons destroy you right now. That's all you're good for . . . you deserve it. You're not a warrior, you're a coward. And you're a failure, an embarassment to the Hyper Force. You deserve to die."

Nevertheless, he shut the weapons off and stepped inside anyway. Nova shut her eyes tight and prepared herself for the beating as he towered over her feeble helpless corpse. Hopefully this beating would be the last . . .

"Get out of my sight."

She only just managed to climb to her feet and stagger out of the room, away from Mandarin. At this stage, her bedroom seemed too far to reach so she heaved herself to the first room that came to mind: the bathroom.

She had to grab the sink to stop herself from falling in but managed to pull herself up and close the door behind her, making sure to lock it. She just wanted some privacy, some time alone.

That's what she was.

Alone.

She turned to face the mirror and stared at her reflection, glancing over the numerous cuts, bruises and even possible frostbite from the past few training experiences.

It was like Mandarin said.

She was nothing.

She deserved to die.

She glanced over her body again, rubbing her bleeding wounds which hadn't been cleaned off in over a week. In fact . . . when was the last time she had been allowed to have a bath or shower or some privacy of some sort?

It was so long ago, she couldn't remember.

Nova sniffed and turned to the bathtub, turning on the hot tap. Warm water began to pour out the tap and down the drain. She tested the water with her hand. It felt really nice . . .

No! She didn't deserve such pleasure! She quickly switched the hot water off, plugged the drain and turned on the cold tap full blast.

As she watched the water pour in, she winced a little and laughed uneasily.

This was all training against the cold, right?

A little cold water never hurt anyone.

I mean, she liked swimming in cold water in hot weather.

And cold water was good for nasty wounds . . .

She glanced longingly at the bath bombs and bubble bath liquid that rested on the shelf over her. She wanted so bad to reach out and drop some into the water.

But she didn't deserve it.

Cowards didn't deserve such luxurious bathing sessions.

By now bathtub was full to the brim, almost overflowing. Shaking her head quickly, she turned the tap off and placed an uncertain foot in the water.

She almost yelped, it was so cold and withdrew her foot in shock. It was like ice!

Well . . . there was no point in wasting such valuable water, right?

She was already enough of a waste of team.

If she just got rid of all that water, Mandarin would be furious.

There was no turning back now.

Nova bit her lip and slowly began to step in, doing everything in her power NOT to scream from the cold of the water.

Her legs were both in now. She took a deep breath and edged herself down. OHHHHH, the cold! It was HURTING her, it was so bad!

But she deserved it, like Mandarin said.

She bit her lip harder before finally flopping herself in. And she just had to open her mouth and gasp in horror. That cold was like nothing she'd ever felt before!

She shuddered and reached out for the hot tap but remembered- this was just all some training against the cold . . .

And she didn't deserve the luxury of lovely warm water.

She didn't even deserve to be taking a bath in the first place, did she?

Come to think of it, she didn't deserve to be here at all . . .

Her teeth were chattering already from the bitter cold of the water . . .

She could do it . . .

No one would care, right?

Mandarin would probably cebrate her . . . _demise_ . . .

Nova scrunched up her eyes and dove under. The cold of the water almost stabbed her face like knives, prickling her body, tightening her throat to the point where she could barely breathe. A few more seconds and she'd be out . . .

No, it was too overwhelming! She needed air! Air! _**NOW!**_

She splashed frantically for the surface and managed to emerge, water splashing everywhere as she gasped for breath. She shook her head and muttered shakily to herself:

"I'm such a failure, I can't even drown myself!"

She sniffed and hugged herself, feeling lonely, helpless and very very cold.

'Well,' she thought to herself. 'If I can't drown myself, I'll just freeze here."

Shivering a little, she rested her head on the side of the bathtub and let the bitter cold numb her body . . .

The door suddenly rattled. Nova yelped and jerked up, startled by the noise of it. What was it now?

"Hey, you gonna be long in there? Cause my magnets aren't gonna polish themselves!"

She shivered. "I- I'm in here!"

"Well you gonna be long?" Sparx asked.

She sighed and murmured to herself "I hope not."

"What are you doing?"

She shuddered a little. "J- just taking a bath."

"Wanna let me in then?"

 _'The blazes, Sparx?'_

"Can't your magnets wait for five minutes?"

"Well you never know when the ol' bone bag might strike," he replied casually. "C'mon Nova, we're all monkeys here!"

"I- I need my privacy!" Her voice quaked. She scrunched up her eyes, praying he wouldn't notice.

Silence . . .

Nova opened her her eyes and exhaled a shaky sigh of relief . . .

"What's going on?" His tone sounded suspicious.

"Nothing!"

"Then why are you getting all defensive on me all of a sudden?"

"I just want some time alone!" It came out like she was pleading, her voice shaking from the cold water.

"What are you doing in there?" Sparx demanded.

"I'm just bathing!" Nova cried, almost desperate.

Another silence . . .

"Right! Lemme in!" The door began to rattle hard.

"No!"

"I know what you're doing!"

"No!" She shook her head, her breath shaking as bad as her body, her eyes watering even though she was already drenched.

"Nova-"

 _"NOOOOO!"_

Before she could stop herself she ducked under again and began coughing to let all the air out, ignoring the pain and the cold of the water because she just wanted to die now so she coughed again, the last of the air bubbles escaping her mouth, her throat tightening and she gulped for air but stayed under even if it made her woozy and did her best to ignore the crashing sound above her, gulping again, closing her eyes, praying she would drown quickly-

 ** _"GET OUT!"_**

She felt a pair of strong hands grab her and tried to resist but they were too strong and yanked her out of the water. Nova coughed and spluttered, air finally getting into her lungs. She felt herself being hauled out of the tub and onto the ground, being sat by the wall, sopping wet and freezing cold. Those hands let go of her body and grabbed her head, forcing her to look at their owner.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" he screamed, mixed emotions in his tone, mostly fear- at least that's what she heard.

He shook her in hope of getting a response. She coughed again and tried to reply but just couldn't breathe. The lack of air and horendous shivering wasn't mixing.

Sparx stared at her for a moment before racing off to the towel rack and grabbing the biggest one he could see, racing back, unfolding it, wrapping it around her shaky body. "Hold that round you real quick."

She nodded shakily and clutched the towel with her trembling hand before looking up at Sparx who was panting hard. She couldn't help but notice the way he was looking at her, anxiously staring her up and down. She shivered and curled up, wrapping the towel farther around her body in a desperate attempt to warm herself up.

"Gimme your hand."

Nova stared at him, her teeth chattering violently. "Wh- Wwhh- why?"

"Just gimme your hand!"

She hesitated but uncurled her hand from behind the towel only to reveal that it was shaking just as bad as the rest of her body, if not worse. Sparx grabbed it and squeezed it tight. A serious look spread across his face as he felt it for a few seconds. He then pulled her towards him, clutching her wrist with one hand, reaching out with the other to feel her forehead. Again, that look on his face . . .

"You're freezing!"

He turned away from her and dunked his arm in the bath water. His eyes widened in shock from the cold of it. He glanced at Nova who glanced away with fearful pink eyes and hugged herself tighter, edging away from him, still shivering.

"Right. Come here."

Sparx wasted no time in approaching the pale yellow simian and wrapped his arms around her shaky body, towel and all. Normally Nova would have stiffened or even resisted if she wasn't shivering so bad. As he pulled her in, it was then that Nova noticed that his arms were shaking too. It wasn't as bad obviously because he hadn't just tried to freeze himself but it was still pretty noticeable.

So she wasn't the only one who got a fright who got a fright from what she did.

She allowed him to squeeze her body against his, rubbing her face against his red fur. She had to admit, it felt nice. She rubbed her face against his fur again. Why was it that it gave her such pleasure? And the way he was rubbing her back. He was rubbing it really fast so it would somehow warm her up but it still felt really nice . . .

Suddenly she didn't feel so cold. Her body began to tone down the shivering. She could finally control her teeth movement. It was then she realized:

'Sparx is keeping me warm. And I'm allowing- no, enjoying it. But why?'

Whatever the reason, she didn't care. She finally had some comfort. And it felt nice, just to finally get some attention from any teammate that wasn't-

"What's going on in here?"

Mandarin's voice seemed to blast away all the warmth and comfort she'd felt seconds ago and replace with cold and fear. Nova shivered and wrapped her towel as far around her body as she could manage, like she was trying to hide. Sparx noticed this and tightened his grip around her body, glaring at his leader.

"She's fine Mandarin."

"Really? Because she _really_ doesn't look well," Mandarin replied in a tone that gave Nova goosebumps. "What happened to her?"

Nova opened her mouth to explain but Sparx was quicker.

"She just slipped getting out of the tub. I was just comforting her. She got a fright so that's why she's a little shaky."

Mandarin smirked. "Oh really? Well that's good to hear . . ." He turned towards Nova who glanced away from him nervously. "But I think Nova is perfectly capable of speaking for herself, don't you? And I don't think a simple slip would require you to knock down a perfectly decent door . . ." He lowered his eyebrows and glared at Nova. "Your teammate IS telling the truth, right? That IS what happened, isn't it?" he asked, almost sneering.

"Leave her alone Mandarin," Sparx muttered in a warning tone.

"But I just wanted to know what was going on," said Mandarin slyly. "That way we can make it better."

He started slinking over to the bathtub while Sparx edged away from him, watching him like a hawk, his grip around Nova tightening a little more.

"I think it would be a good idea to get rid of all this water," said Mandarin. "We don't want any more accidents . . ."

Sparx went to say something but Mandarin shushed him and dipped his hand in the bathwater. He frowned at the cold of it and glared at Nova.

"Well now! This is interesting, isn't it?"

Sparx was almost growling at him at this stage. Mandarin just ignored this and lowered his eyebrows. Nova found herself shivering really bad again at the look on his face.

"It seems like we've got a little bit of lying going on here don't you think?"

She bit her lip, not sure what to say or expect.

"I find it very strange that you complain so much about how you cannot handle such cold weather . . . and yet the water in here is like ice," Mandarin sneered. "Would you care to explain, Nova?"

"She-"

"Sparx . . . I'm questioning Nova not you. Now Nova." Mandarin leaned in forward and spoke in a voice that was soft but dangerous. "Could you tell me why the water here is so cold?"

She hesitated before shakily mumbling "Th- the hot water wasn't working."

"Was it not?" Mandarin pretended to gasp. " _Reeeeally?_ Let's test it, shall we?"

"Mandarin, leave it it's fine!" said Sparx quickly.

"But Sparx, I want to see if Nova is telling the truth," said Mandarin, turning on the hot tap and placing his hand underneath to test the water. "Ahhhh . . ." A creepy grin spread across his face. "It's perfectly hot!"

Nova cringed and found herself curling up to Sparx who squeezed her protectively. He was gonna let her her have it now.

"Now then!" Mandarin turned off the tap and shifted into a more serious expression. "That's not very good, is it Nova? You know you can't lie to others, ESPECIALLY your leader!"

He waited for her to respond but instead she sniffed and tried to cover herself more with the towel, like a catapillar peeping out of a cocoon. When she didn't say anything, Mandarin scowled and stomped towards her.

"Get away from her Mandarin!" Sparx warned, shifting in an agitated manner.

Again Mandarin ignored him but he did stop walking. "Now Nova, are you going to answer me or-"

"She doesn't want to!" Sparx interrupted.

"Sparx, Nova is perfectly capable of speaking for herself! Now-"

"But she doesn't want to!"

"I want to know why that is!" Mandarin snapped, getting impatient.

"Probably cause you're scaring her!"

"Me? Scaring her?" Mandarin snorted. "I think you're both being a little overdramatic now. Why in Shuggazoom's name would Nova be AFRAID-"

"You think we haven't noticed the way you've been treating her lately?"

Nova's eyes widened at this. She glanced up at Sparx who hadn't taken his eyes off of Mandarin.

'He's noticed?' she thought to herself. 'And now he's defending me? He saves me, warms me up and now this? Why?' She shivered, not sure what to think of it. The argument was beginning to get a bit heated. An argument over her. And it wasn't a good feeling to say the least.

"Sparx-"

"Shh!"

Unfortunately Mandarin noticed and raised his eyebrows. "No, let her continue!" He leaned in forward and spoke in that really dangerous voice again. "What was it you were going to say then?"

She shook her head a little too quickly. "Nothing!"

"Now Nova, don't treat me like some dumb monkey," Mandarin said a little menacingly. "If you have something to say, go ahead and say it! We're all listening."

Nova shook her head again and curled up more to Sparx who tightened his grip around her again. She could tell he was doing his best to defend her, protect her and she appreciated it, she really did. But at the same time, she feared for his safety. If Mandarin could treat her the way he was treating her, what would he do to Sparx and what would stop him from doing it?

"Forget it, it wasn't important!"

"So it's no longer important?" Mandarin's smirk was slowly dropping. "Is that it? Well if you ask me, it MUST have been important if you had to interrupt our conversation!"

Nova just lay there, preparing herself for things to get ugly.

"Now tell me! What was it you were gonna say, hm?" Mandarin demanded, stomping towards her.

"Stay away!" Sparx edged farther away from him, holding Nova as tight as he could. But the two of them were trapped between the wall and their leader.

"You keep out of this!" Mandarin snapped.

"She's exhausted!"

"Which just goes to show how pathetic she is!"

"That's not true!

"It is true and you both know it!"

"No, YOU'VE been pushing her WAY too hard lately!"

"She needs to realize that if she doesn't push herself, she'll never be a fighter!"

"She won't be able to fight if you keep beating her like this!"

Nova just wanted to run away and hide somewhere as the two males argued over her. She glanced down at her hands which were trembling really bad and let out a whimper. "Guys . . ."

"Shut up you!" Mandarin snapped.

"Don't talk to her like that!" yelled Sparx.

"I'll talk to her however I want, the witless coward! She doesn't appreciate what I do for her!"

"APPRECIATE?!"

"I'm doing everything in my power to make her a stronger fighter! She just doesn't understand what I'm doing! I'm trying, I'm pushing her!"

"To the point where she wants to kill herself?!"

There was a deathly silence. Sparx scrunched up his eyes and gritted his teeth, realizing his mistake.

 _'Monkey Blazing Doodle!'_

Mandarin just stood there while Nova shuddered, sniffing a little. Next thing, a fake look of sympathy spread across Mandarin's face.

"You want to kill yourself, Nova?" Without giving her a chance to reply, he continued on. "That _is_ serious! And it's a little bit stupid now, don't you think? You know we're only trying to help be a better fighter!" He might as well have said "You fool! You will fight, you will fight to the death you stupid female!"

Mandarin went to approach her but Sparx whipped out a magnet and aimed it at him.

"Stay away!"

"Now Sparx," Mandarin replied in a really sly tone. "Calm down-"

"I'll strike you!"

"You wouldn't."

"Oh I will alright!"

There was something off about him Nova noticed. She didn't know what it was but there was something wrong. Maybe it was the sweat on his brow, maybe it was his shaky arm or maybe it was that he sounded more scared that fierce . . .

"Sparx, please-"

"It's okay." He gave her a squeeze, refusing to take his eyes off of Mandarin.

"No Sparx, I think Nova's right," he said casually. "I don't want to fight. I just want to help . . ." He went to approach them again.

"Mandarin!" Sparx's magnet began to flicker.

"Put that magnet away," said Mandarin, holding up his hands. "Do you see my weapons out?"

Sparx growled but deactivated his magnet anyway though it was obvious that his guard wasn't down just yet. Mandarin nodded then stepped up to Nova who glanced away from him, shivering with fear. Mandarin glared at her for a moment then reached out to stroke her shoulder.

"Don't touch me!"

"It's okay Nova," Mandarin sneered. "I won't hurt you. I just find it very upsetting that you want to kill yourself."

He reached out to touch her shoulder again. Nova winced but let him anyway, knowing that one false move would surely kill them both.

"Noooow," Mandarin breathed, stroking her arm in the most intimidating "soothing" way possible. "That's better . . ."

Nova didn't respond. She wanted to plead him to stop but knowing what he could do, stayed quiet, still shivering.

"You know you can't kill yourself, Nova . . ." he breathed.

She didn't respond as Mandarin continued to rub her shoulder, working his way upwards towards her neck . . .

"Mandarin," Sparx muttered in that warning tone, his hand ready to transform.

"Now Sparx, calm down," Mandarin sneered. "See, she's going along with it perfectly fine."

His hand was still edging towards the back of Nova's neck. Nova winced and tried to edge away but she couldn't move. She was trapped and completely helpless.

"It's alright Nova . . . I'm not hurting you, see?" His tone only made her shiver worse. If this was another mind game, she didn't want to fall for it . . .

His grip on her neck suddenly tightened and before she knew it, she found herself being hoisted out of Sparx's grip, the towel flopping to the ground and out of the corner of her eye she spotted him whip out his sword and screamed for her life as she saw it jab towards her neck and Mandarin was screaming "YOU CAN'T KILL YOURSELF BUT I WILL!" and she screamed again before a blast freed her from her leader's grip and sent her crashing to the ground face first though she didn't need to see to know what was happening above her.

"YOU TRIED TO KILL HER!"

"I was testing her! To keep her on her toes! If she was a warrior, she would have fought back!"

"You just scared the living scrap out of her!"

"I just wanted to-"

 ** _"GET AWAY FROM HER!"_**

She heard Sparx's magnets lash out and Mandarin's scream ring in her ears before a crashing sound against the wall filled the air. Even though it was nowhere near her, she still cringed and curled up in fear, trying to scream even though no sound would come out.

"Stay away!"

"Stop defending her, she's pulling you into her cowardly ways!"

"You're destroying her, Mandarin!"

"I'm not destroying her, she's just looking for sympathy. She's just being a whining cowardly little-"

"Back off!"

Another blast, another screech. It was enough to make her clutch herself, and wrap her tail around her shaky body.

"Fine. Be like that then. But I'm not wasting my time with two failures on my team!"

And finally Mandarin scmapered off, leaving them alone. For a moment, the bathroom was filled with a deathly silence. Nova somehow managed to muster the courage to glance behind her. A glimpse of Sparx stumbling over to the toilet and lifting the seat was enough she needed to see. She turned her head and scrunched up her eyes as she heard him retch, splashing sounds shooting into the basin. The only upside to it was that at least she knew that she wasn't the only member of the Hyper Force who had a severe fear of their own leader.

Another silence filled the air. She dared not turn around to face her comerade but instead lay there, too shaken to even cry, too cold to feel him grab her and turn her over to face him.

"N- Nova?"

He shook her in hope of getting some sort of response from her. She only just managed to open her eyes and stare into his, her pupils shimmering with intense fear, her breath cracking, her face crumbling.

"Okay . . ." He was already squeezing her with his trembling arms, trying to knock some confidence of some sort into her. "Okay, he's gone . . . it's over, you're safe now, you're alright . . . it's over, it's okay . . . you're alright." Neither of them knew if he was trying to reassure Nova or himself.

She didn't reply, just burried her head into his shoulder. Even if she could reply, she wouldn't know what to say . . . Mandarin just tried to kill her! How could anyone say anything about that?

He loosened his grip on her, allowing him to look her over while she stared back at him with her bubblegum pink eyes.

"I think you're in shock."

She just stared at him blankly without a word or any movement. She just couldn't put together what the heck was going on . . . Sparx, the monkey who spent most of his patrol joyriding and flirting with ladies was now looking after her?

"C'mon, we gotta getcha to medbay."

He scooped her up in his arms and began carrying her off and Nova who still lay there was still trying to put together the pieces of what just happened. She glanced up at the red monkey and couldn't help noticing how pale he looked. He was trying his best to look strong but he really looked like he was going to be sick again and- wait, was he _carrying_ her?

She lifted her head, perking up a little. "S-Sparx, I can walk fine!"

"Not after that you can't. Lie down, we'll be there in a sec."

"No I'm fine," she replied. "Sparx, you look really pale, you really need to get yourself some help."

"I'll be alright," he muttered. They were in medbay now and he rested her on one of the tables. "Hang on, I'll get Gibson for ya."

"Sparx?"

He paused and turned to face her. She was sitting up fine, giving him a look of awe.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?" He looked confused.

"I mean you save me, warm me up, defend me from Mandarin and now this . . ." Her eyes were shimmering and this time it wasn't from fear. "Why?"

He sighed and turned away from her. "I never liked that guy. Just the way he was treating you . . . I didn't like it. I- I know you don't think it but we're doing everything we can to stop him. We know he's onto you. We're not gonna let that happen, okay? You're gonna be alright, Nova."

With that, he turned off, leaving Nova there to lie down and think.

So they did care about her.

And they were trying to protect her from Mandarin.

And you know . . . that didn't feel as good as she thought it would.

In fact, it made her feel like a damsel!

No wonder Mandarin was calling her weak!

She was relying on four other monkeys to protect her from her own leader!

As Gibson rushed into the room and began to examine her, she lowered her eyebrows and thought to herself:

 _'I've been putting up with Mandarin's scrap for too long. I can't let it happen anymore. From this moment on, I gotta stand up to him and show him I can be strong. I'm gonna show him . . . I'm not a coward, I'm a warrior!'_

A confident grin spread across her lips. For the first time in ages, she finally felt strong.

 _'I'm a warrior now!'_

 **OKAY! IT'S DONE! *collapses***

 **Damn, my one shots just keep getting longer and longer don't they?**

 **I'm sorry if some parts felt rushed but . . . over 7000 words, what more can you ask for?**

 **I really hope you enjoyed that theory!**

 **Please Read and Review and check out my other stories and until next time- WHY AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO WRITES SPOVA FICS NOWADAYS? WHERE DID ALL THE GOOD SPOVA WRITERS GO? *Dies***


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